You Never Know Who You'll Meet at a Laundrette
by Chaimera
Summary: A chance meeting. My small contribution for Christmas cheer.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even the computer I type this on.**

**This is part of my meek Christmas offering. Its short, hopefully sweet and posted a bit late, but you nice people aren't going to hold that against me.  
****I am very happy because it snowed here on Christmas day!! It very rarely snows here. **

**You Never Know Who You'll Meet at a Laundrette.**

By Chaimera 

Sarah Williams groaned as she dumped the heavy pile of laundry down and fished in her bag for her purse. She was a tall woman in her mid twenties with shoulder length wavy dark hair but her eyes were a piercing green. She boot leg blue jeans and a black angora sweater. Sarah glanced up as a car drove by the glass window.

It was Christmas eve and here she was, in Cambridge. The snow had already begun to fall and build up on the side of the roads. Sarah was here studying English Lit as a post graduate and even though she was sad not to have anyone to share Christmas with, she had gotten the distinct feeling for Karen that she was not particularly welcome.

The laundrette she was in was silent, the only other customer an old man who had fallen asleep on one of the chairs at the back of the room. Sarah used the place frequently as it was only a two minute walk from her small flat, she knew which of the machines were most likely to work on a freezing night like this. She dumped her whites in to the drum and gave the appliance a good kick and it rumbled to life. She could hear the distant toll of church bells marking nine o'clock. It was pitch black outside, except the pools of light from the street lights which dotted the pavement. Lost in thought, Sarah barely heard the door open but she did feel the rush of cold air as it closed again.

She hopped off the silent machine she had been sitting on and slammed in to a someone. A strong pair of hands caught her as she fell and set her on her feet again. "Oh, I am so sorry. I was just in a different world and…"

The man laughed. It was a deep rich laugh that Sarah quite liked but she jumped when she heard him speak.

"That's quite alright. I know the feeling."

Sarah looked up into a suddenly equally surprised pair of mismatched eyes. She took a step back and stared at him. "Who are you?"

He frowned at her. "You know very well who I am. Don't tell me you've forgotten already Sarah."

She shook her head. "That would be hard, but what are you doing here?" She eyes the large bag that he had dropped to catch her. "I doubt you're here to do your laundry." He picked up the bag and moved towards her and she took a step back. He rolled his eyes at her. "To the contrary that is exactly what I am here to do and I see you have taken the only decent machine in the place. I guess I shall have to wait until you are finished."

Sarah laughed. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you, Jareth, the mighty Goblin King, is really here in Cambridge to do his laundry?"

"Well, no, not really, but you see I am no longer the Goblin King."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Jareth leant against the wall across from her. She took a proper look at him for the first time and found herself surprised.

He was wearing black trousers, a grey shirt and a black leather jacket. His hair while still relatively long was much more …flat. He had it pulled back in a loose pony tail but some of the strands had come loose and he looked very sexy. Sarah gave herself a mental slap and looked up at him as he began talking.

"Well, when you defeated me the fae court decided that the Goblin King, a very important position within our community, should be filled by someone else until I learned to be a better ruler. Being beaten by a mortal is to the 'in thing' amongst fae." Sarah hopped back on to the washing machine she had been sitting on. "So they didn't just sack you?"

Jareth smiled and shook his head. "Much to their distain, they can't. The position is mine by birth right. They can however stop me ruling until I reach five hundred." Sarah jumped. "Five hundred? How old are you now?"

"Three hundred and seventy three."

"Sweet Bridget you are old."

"Thanks."

"Oh, sorry. No wait. Fine so they sent you off to learn your lesson. That still doesn't explain why you're here and why your not trying to kill me."

Jareth laughed again and Sarah shivered slightly. Another mental slap was administered.

"Well they sent me here, to live as a mortal. When I first arrived I was not pleased. If I had run into you then this would be a very different situation but, bruised ego aside, this has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me."

"Seriously?"

He nodded. "No politicians to deal with, no court etiquette, no goblin stench."

"They did reek. So what do you do here?"

"I run a specialist book store. It's on the out skirts of town so unless you were looking for it I doubt you would have heard of it."

Sarah played with a strand of hair. "That's pretty cool. Your manners have certainly improved since I last saw you."

"I was never anything but civil to you."

"Well, I wouldn't say civil, but you were rotten to my friends."

"Who? Oh Hog brain?"

"Hoggle." She corrected automatically and Jareth laughed.

"Only because they were helping you. And look where I ended up because of them." "Yes, you should really thank them. A fruit basket maybe?"

"Well your manners haven't improved in the slightest."

Sarah grinned at him but said nothing. She opened the washing machine as the cycle finished and Jareth moved forward. "Not yet. These were just my whites, I still have that lot to do." She gestured to the hamper beside her. Jareth moved over to her. "Hmm, yes. I can see why you would want this to be clean."

She looked up at him and gasped. He was holding up a bright red lacy push-up bra. "Jareth!" She snatched it off him as he laughed. "Its rude to go through other peoples things."

He simply laughed again and the old man at the back snorted in his sleep. She set the washer and dryer and then looked over to Jareth who had returned to his place against the wall.

"I've never heard you laugh so much. And in that way."

"Yes, well being up here has made me happier."

"You sound so corny."

"What? I have being enjoying life as a mortal, which is more than most mortals do. I have no responsibilities. At least not on the same scale. I do not have to be on ceremony all the time. I can go out with any girl no matter where she's from. I simply doesn't matter. Why should I not be happy."

Sarah smiled at him. "I suppose you have the right idea really. So you've done the dating thing. Got a girlfriend?"

"Not at the moment. What about you? Have you had any recent attachments?"

Sarah shrugged. " Well, I was engaged recently."

Jareth looked at her sharply. "Really?" She noticed his voice had regained its old edge.

"Yeah, but alas it was not to be. I just wasn't in love with him. I don't know why I said yes in the first place."

Jareth relaxed a bit and moved over to where she was sitting. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

She shrugged again. "I don't know. Just sit in my flat and watch movies I suppose. All my friends have gone home for Christmas. Why?"

"Maybe you would be so kind as to join me for dinner?"

"My place or yours?"

"Mine."

Sarah noticed that his face was getting steadily closer. She shifted slightly but his arms were on either side of her.

"What about afterwards?"

"I suppose we could watch a movie, catch up on old times."

"Right well…"

His lips cut off what she was about to say in a searing kiss. She pulled back, a little shocked.

"What are you doing?"

He smiled at her and kissed her again. "You ask a lot of questions."

She pulled back again as electricity shot up and down her spine but she tried to ignore it. "What are you doing?"

He sighed. "Do I really need to spell it out for you?"

She nodded silently.

"I saying thank you."

"For what?"

"More questions! For making me end up here, so that I am in this Laundrette now, with you."

"Oh."

He kissed her again and the lighting created a light show in her head as he deepened the kiss and this time she didn't pull back. After an indeterminate amount of time they both jumped apart at a sound.

"Ahem!!"

The old man who had previously been asleep was now standing beside them with a highly disapproving look on his face.

"Now he wakes up." Mumbled Sarah as she unloaded her washing. "Right…um…so…"

"So, I'll pick you up tomorrow for dinner."

"Right…and…um"

He grinned at her. "And you live…?"

"You know the apartment building on the corner?" She gestured down the road and he nodded. "Apartment 3B." He nodded again.

"But just in case…" She fished a pen out of her bag and grabbed his hand. "Here's my number."

She began to move towards the door but Jareth kept hold of her hand and pulled her back. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right…" He cut her off again, kissing her deeply.

"Ahem!!!" Jareth growled and Sarah giggled.

"See you tomorrow."

And with that she swept out the door. She smiled to her self as she walked quickly through the snow. It wasn't going to be such a bad Christmas after all.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FOLKS!!!!

**R&R people. Make my Christmas complete.  
****Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and I hope people had a good Yule. Peace and love and a most fantabulous year to all. I am going to shut up now.**

**Slán Gó Foll. **


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